虛擬品牌社群關係對會員忠誠度之影響－－知覺社群價值之中介效果

The Effects of Community Relationship on Participant’s Loyalty for Virtual Brand Communities - The Intervening Role of Perceived Community Values

面對競爭劇烈的經營環境，品牌的重要性與日俱增，企業期望藉由品牌的經營，強化顧客對產品的忠誠度。隨著網際網路的普及，藉助虛擬社群匯集目標顧客，透過線上經驗分享與品牌資訊的傳遞，將消費者納為行銷品牌的重要資源，使得虛擬品牌社群成為品牌管理者注目的焦點。回顧虛擬社群參與原因或效應的相關研究，鮮少以品牌消費者社群為主體，探討驅動會員社群忠誠度的因素與對品牌忠誠度的影響。依據社會網絡理論，虛擬社群可視為人與人互動關係的集合體，經由社群關係的建立，個人可獲致多種價值利益，藉由關係特徵的分析，可以瞭解社群關係對個人態度與行為的影響。針對以特定品牌為主題的虛擬社群，本研究探討會員的社群關係對社群忠誠度與品牌忠誠度的影響。研究中以「魔獸公會」與「奇摩Play Station討論區」二個品牌遊戲社群會員為問卷調查對象，共取得601份有效問卷。資料分析結果顯示，會員的社群關係顯著影響對於社群價值的知覺，此知覺顯著影響會員的社群認同，進而影響對社群的忠誠度，而會員對社群價值的知覺，不僅直接影響其對品牌的忠誠度，亦會透過社群忠誠度間接影響會員對品牌商品的忠誠度。

Developments in information technology have already had a significant impact on marketing. A virtual brand community (VBC) is a group of consumers with a shared enthusiasm for the brand, where brand-related activities predominate and interactions occur exclusively through virtual media such as internet bulletin-boards or chat-rooms. Despite the fact that a considerable literature on virtual communities in the contexts of learning and education, researches of the antecedents of community identity and loyalty of VBC participants have been rare. The issue of relationships lies at the heart of creation and development of virtual communities. It has been argued that consumers may gain value and satisfaction from interacting with others in VBCs. This study investigates determinants of community identity and loyalty of VBC members based on a perspective of relationship value. A conceptual model of how different perceptions of consumers’ relationships with the brand community influence their values, identity and loyalty has been developed. The proposed model is tested on a sample of 601 members of VBCs (centered on “World of Warcraft” and “Play Station”). Implications for values of community relationship, virtual community loyalty, and brand loyalty are offered.